2009 Fifty Pence

In 2009 the demand from the banks for new 50p coins must have been low, as an unusually low number of 50p coins were struck for general circulation.

Three different 50p designs were made dated 2009, but only one of those was made in high enough numbers to be intended for circulation (and even its mintage is also quite low). The coin with the standard (new) design featuring the bottom section of the Royal Coat of Arms was only issued and sold in Royal Mint year-sets. The commemorative coins for 2009 were the now almost cult-status Kew Gardens 250th anniversary coin and another coin was produced in connection with the forthcoming Olympics and designed by the winner of the Children’s TV programme Blue Peter.

The obverse portrait of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley was used on all UK coinage from 1998 to 2014 and for some 2015 coins. It was the fourth portrait of the Queen used on coinage. For the new design 50p coins the design on the reverse is best suited for a coin with its ‘point’ facing downwards, so to accommodate this the obverse has also been rotated.

The reverse design, by Matthew Dent shows the bottom part of the shield of the Royal Coat of Arms.

Collectability/Scarcity: 5 (for scale details see here) CAUTION, FAKES ARE KNOWN TO EXIST, SEE HERE.

The story behind the design:

The obverse portrait of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley was used on all UK coinage from 1998 to 2014 and for some 2015 coins. It was the fourth portrait of the Queen used on coinage. The reverse of this coin omits the denomination, so this has been added to the obverse, below the Queen.

The reverse design, by Christopher Le Brun shows the Chinese Pagoda at Kew Gardens and the coin marks the 250th anniversary of Kew Gardens. In February 2014 it was widely reported that this coin has the lowest mintage of any current 50p. This fact had been known for a while, but the wider public knowledge created a frenzy online and these were selling for inflated amounts. There is still higher demand for them than for any other 50p and they sell for many times face value! This is one of the current key-date British coins that you should Check Your Change for!

The obverse portrait of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley was used on all UK coinage from 1998 to 2014 and for some 2015 coins. It was the fourth portrait of the Queen used on coinage.

The reverse design, by Florence Jackson shows a high jumper and was the winning entry in a competition held by Blue Peter in connection with the forthcoming 2012 London Olympic games. This reverse was also used as one of the 29 different Olympic 50p coins released in 2011.

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